Crossing the Bristol Channel – Days 14 and 15 Once round Land’s End you are committed to a long passage, either up to Padstow, across to Milford Haven, or further west to Ireland. We opted for the latter, as the wind was free and we were storming along at 7 to 8 knots with tide under us. The ocean makes … Read More

We departed from Newlyn at about 1230, after a partial meltdown by the skipper. I knew that on this trip I was going to learn a lot and do a lot of things that I have never done before. The most nerve-shredding is close-quarters manoeuvring. Now, monohulls do a lot of this and are easily turned around in tight spaces. … Read More

A peculiar lot, fishermen. Firstly, it is ‘men’; the last bastion of unreconstructed raw masculinity doing one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. (Newlyn harbour does not appear to have a Ladies’ toilet and I never spotted a single female on the dockside.) And the fishing boats themselves seem to exemplify the character of the men who work … Read More

Our third night in Newlyn Harbour. It doesn’t seem to quieten down much at night, and fishermen seem to prefer 4am to set off out to sea. Apparently a Scottish prawner (a boat not a person) fell over last night at low water, but I didn’t hear it above the usual din of throbbing diesels, squeaks from fenders and clanking. … Read More

Stuck on a pontoon at Falmouth Haven, with the wind pinning us on and fenders all squeaking away. Rain showers and no prospect of going anywhere today. We reckon early Monday morning might be an option to go directly to Milford Haven, about 150 miles. Otherwise it feels like being stuck in limbo….

Oh dear, we’ve got stuck! The weather has gone seriously against us. Yesterday’s crossing from Fowey to Falmouth was grim, motoring into the teeth of a force 5 to 6 wind, with short steep waves shaking the boat and straining all the gear. It took 6 hours to go 25 miles, and we were exhausted by the end. How so … Read More

Two days in, and we have already experienced fog, sunshine, thunder and lightning and a torrential rain shower! First night was in Salcombe, with an evening meal shared with Derek and Aidan from the club, and today we intended to get to Fowey. But autopilot failure meant that we diverted to Plymouth, in case it needed some serious attention. Turns … Read More

Hopefully the first of a number of posts that will show our progress around the UK under sail in ‘Nellinui’ – assuming I can wrestle the technology into submission. But first…. the boat. If you have a look at some other stuff on the website, you will see that she is entirely home-built. A catamaran of 10m length, 6m beam, … Read More